US shares dropped despite positive economic data

European shares were mixed on Greek negotiations

During the last week of June, European stock market was unsettled, as Greek debt crisis remains unresolved. After months of talks, negotiations on extending the Greek bailout will continue this weekend with the hope of reaching a last-minute deal. Meanwhile, a 30 June deadline looms for a critical 1.54 billion euro debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund.

The Eurostoxx 600 gauge, increased slightly 0.66% to close at 396.85 points on Friday’s evening. The biggest drop was showed by basic materials and technology industries, which declined by 0.46% and 0.24%, respectively. However, real estate and financials services revealed the most positive development, and managed to went up 1.89% and 1.7%. This week, the major Greek banks, were among the largest market movers. As a result, the Alpha Bank AE soared 56.3% to 0.322 euros, while the Piraeus Bank SA rose 22.7% to trade at 0.40 euros. The National Bank of Greece, in turn, advanced 36.36% to trade at 1.20 euros. Among biggest losers, Elementis Plc, a UK-listed global specialty chemicals company dropped 14.8% to 256.20 pence since a full-year earnings per share missed market expectations, affected by the significant reduction in oil projects in North America. Vallourec SA, a world leader in premium tubular solutions serving energy and industry markets, also posted a 7.8% decline to 18.54 euro, due to the redundancy of 550 jobs in France.

Meanwhile, the German DAX went up 0.28% to 11,501.50 points, while the British FTSE 100 Index, on the contrary, lost 1.05% to close at the 6,753.70 mark back on Friday.

US shares dropped despite positive economic data

Shares of major US companies plunged significantly, pushing markets down during the previous trading week. Overall, economic data on US consumer spending and the housing market were strong in May, while the US GDP contracted at a 0.2% annual pace in the first quarter, less than the previously estimated 0.7%. Consumer spending was revised upward, though growth in imports offset rising exports. The resulting trade deficit subtracted two percentage points from GDP in the first quarter. The consensus estimate for annualized second-quarter GDP growth is more than 2%.

The largest S&P 500 Index, which colligates data for 500 biggest companies in the US, plunged 1.01% to 2,071.26 points by the end of the trading week. Almost all the industries included in the gauge faced losses. The worst performance was shown by utilities and basic materials, as they lost value in the range from 2.2% to 2.1%. Williams Cos Inc, an American an energy company, was among the leaders this week, gaining 18.1% and trading at $57.12 per share on Friday, after the company rejected a $48 billion takeover bid extended by Kelcy Warrens’ energy transfer equity. Tenet Healthcare Corp, followed with an increase of 9.7% to trade at $57.80, after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Obamacare, keeping subsidies intact and limiting the risk of a spike in bad debt expense at the company. On the other hand, Micron Technology and Windstream Holdings Inc, plummeted as much as 19.6% and 13.32%, to trade at $19.66 and $6.64, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average went down in 0.96% to 17,946.68 points, while high-tech index NASDAQ dipped 1.4% to reach the 5,080.505 mark.

Japan’s share market were mixed during the previous week

Japanese shares showed almost the worst performance compared to other global equities during the previous week. As usual, there were few announcements of economic data, nevertheless, the household spending in Japan rose 4.8% year-over-year through May. The economic indicator showed the first annual increase since March 2014, before the country’s sales tax increased from 5% to 8%. Meanwhile, Japan’s second-quarter GDP growth is forecast to be 0%.

The benchmark Topix Index increased 1.12% to close at 1,667.03 points at the end of the last week. Unfortunately, all the industries included in the gauge went down in five trading days. The worst performance was shown by rubber products, real estate and nonferrous metals industries, as they lost value in the range from 2.0% to 4.3%. Econach Holdings Co Ltd, a Japanese company which is engaged in real estate, cosmetics and golf businesses, surged 45.1% to 90 yen per share, while Shuei Yobiko Co Ltd, a Japanese provider of various educational services in Japan followed with an increase of 32.4% to 755 yen. On the other hand, Success Holdings Co Ltd, a Japan-based company mainly engaged in childcare business and public childcare business, fell 9.5% to trade at 1,359 yen. Kosaido Holdings Co Ltd, a printing business company, also lost 9.05% to 613 yen per share.

The second-largest stock index of the country, Nikkei 225, rose as much as 1.3% to 20,706.15 points; while, over the last three months the gauge is showing a strong 7.3% increase in value.

Asian shares declined despite good economic data

Asia-Pacific equities were the worst performers during the previous week, while the majority of news came from China. Meanwhile, the preliminary HSBC China Manufacturing PMI rose to 49.6 points in June from 49.2 points in May, just shy of the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction. Output and purchasing activity improved, but manufacturers sharply cut payrolls.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index decreased 1.15% to 5,545.90 level last wee, as all the industries included in the gauge posted a strong negative movement. Consumer discretionary and utilities lost the most value of 6.04% and 5.9%, respectively. Among market movers, Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd, an Australia-based company engaged in mid-scale liquefied natural gas, soared 10.1% to $4.12 per share. Cardno Ltd, one of the world's leading environmental consultants, also jumped 10.06% to $3.39. On the contrast, Bradken Ltd, a mining services company , plunged 23.5% to $1.525, while shares of BC Iron Ltd, diminished 12.7% to trade at $0.445. In a market sensitive announcement, Bradken Ltd, said that a consortium of Sigdo Koppers and CHAMP Private Equity has agreed to invest approximately $70 million into the company’s struggling business. Bradken said that the funds raised from the investment will be used to pay down debt and increase operating flexibility.

Meanwhile, the Hang Seng Index decreased 1.54% to 26,663.87 points last week, while the NZX 50 gauge of New Zealand slipped 0.29% to 5,755.44 points back on June 26.

EXPLANATIONS

Indexes

• Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500) or (SPX) - U.S. stock market index consisting of the 500 large-cap shares widely traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (INDU) - U.S. stock market index consisting of the 30 large publicly owned U.S. companies , primarily industrials

• NASDAQ Composite Index - U.S. stock market index representing all the stocks that are traded on the Nasdaq stock market, mostly technology and Internet-related

• New Zealand Exchange 50 Gross Index (NZX 50) - stock market index consisting of the top 50 companies listed on the New Zealand Stock exchange

• S&P/ASX 200-a market - capitalization weighted stock market index of stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange from Standard and Poor’s

• Hang Seng Index (HI) - Hong Kong’s stock market index consisting of 48 largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Exchange

• Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average (Nikkei 225 Index) or (NKY) - Japanese stock market index consisting of the 225 largest companies listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange

• FTSE 100 Index (UKX) - U.K. stock market index consisting of the 100 most capitalized U.K. companies trading on the London Stock Exchange

• DAX Index (DAX) - German stock market index consisting of the 30 largest and most liquid German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

• Eurostoxx 600 - stock market index, derived from the Stoxx Europe Total Market Index, consisting of 600 large, mid – and small-sized companies from 18 European countries

Chart

• Correlation - statistical measure of the linear relationship between two random variables. It is defined as the covariance divided by the standard deviation of two variables.

• Historical price changes - chart reflecting the historical price changes of particular region’s stock indices

Indicators

• Industry performance - weekly performance of industries within the particular stock market index

• Top performers - companies within a particular stock market index showing the best or worst weekly performance

• Performance - relative historical change of stock market index value